Angels' Sandoval loses no-hit bid with 1 out in 9th
Patrick Sandoval came up a little short of making some baseball history.
The Los Angeles Angels left-hander came two outs shy in his bid for a no-hitter against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Brent Rooker broke up the no-no with a double down the right-field line.
Never mind. pic.twitter.com/gA4X8rUi5U
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 25, 2021
After getting the second out of the ninth, Sandoval was lifted for Raisel Iglesias. The closer allowed Rooker to score on a Josh Donaldson double but recovered to strike out Miguel Sano and save a 2-1 victory.
Sandoval finished his night having struck out a career-high 13 batters on 108 pitches (69 strikes). He allowed just the one hit while walking one batter and hitting two.
Take a look at the stellar performance from Patrick Sandoval 👏#WeBelieve | @Angels pic.twitter.com/iLz4s9fg1R
— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) July 25, 2021
The 24-year-old was bidding to throw the eighth no-no of the 2021 campaign. The seven official no-hitters this year are tied for the most in a modern-era season (since 1901). The all-time single-season record of eight has stood untouched since 1884.
Jered Weaver (2012) was the last Angels pitcher to throw a complete-game no-hitter, coincidentally against the Twins. They got a combined no-hitter in 2019.
The Twins haven't been no-hit since falling victim to Weaver. Their franchise, which began in 1901 as the Washington Senators, has never been no-hit at home.